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From Bottles to Brothels: My return to the tour business
For the first time in four years, I led a tour of my own creation. That’s not completely accurate; My current boss has taken a few of my suggestions and turned them into tours that he’s assigned me to, but this was the first tour since my 2022 Morocco trip where I was responsible for…
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Involuntary Intimacy: A Guide to the Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro is a subterranean marvel that manages to be simultaneously the greatest bargain in the Western Hemisphere and a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. To understand the scale of this operation, you have to appreciate that 5.5 million people ride these rails every day. With 9-car trains holding upwards of 3,195 people at peak…
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Adventures in pet sitting: A Study in Urban Diplomacy
As I mentioned in a previous post, the demographic tide has shifted in San Miguel de Chapultepec. The neighborhood has seen an influx of new residents who, like their counterparts in the trendy Condesa across the way, have brought their dogs in droves. However, while Condesa boasts expansive dog parks where canines can frolic and…
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How I invited Montezuma into my kitchen
Most people assume I have an iron stomach because I travel the world constantly eating street food. I remember once ordering from a food cart and only later looking down to see an open sewage trough flowing beneath the wheels. It is a strange truth that most of my bouts of food poisoning have occurred…
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The Joy of Staying Put: Three Weeks in Mexico City’s Quiet Corner
After wrapping up a Puerto Vallarta tour, I traded the coastal humidity for the thin, sophisticated air of Mexico City. I was there for a three-week pet sit—a welcome reprieve from my normally nomadic life. I’d sat for my friend Jason before, but this was a last-minute arrangement. He’d been whisked away for an artist-in-residence…
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A High-Altitude Loop Through Mexico City
This week I experienced a distinct shift happening in the way Mexicans get around. While Europe has long embraced the iron rail and China continues its breakneck expansion of high-speed transit, Mexico is currently in the midst of its own rail renaissance with 13 passenger projects in the works. Even Florida has joined the fray…
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The only thing on fire in Puerto Vallarta this week was our chef
While the news was busy spinning tales of unrest, the only thing truly on fire this week was our personal chef. Chef Oscar treated us to three Mexican inspired meals a day. From seafood, the local specialty, to steak prepared arrachera style, it was a week of gluttony that had us all taking photos of…
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Bring a jacket if you visit one of Mexico’s hill towns
“Bring a jacket” was the first response we got when telling anyone we were going to the Mexican hill towns of Mineral del Chico and Mineral del Monte. Having been a few times before, I knew they weren’t kidding. While air conditioning is readily found at any of the hot and humid beach destinations, heaters…
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Making money living the life of your dreams
It’s not often I get schooled on how to live the life of your dreams, but it happened this past Monday. Joan and I went on a kayaking trip we found offered as an AirBnB experience. As a tour guide, I am often skeptical about paying someone else to lead me on an adventure. The…
Category: Mexico
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